Dragons
Synopsis Dragons are an ancient race dating back to Celestia, the Elder World. They have played a prominent role in the creation of the Old World, and participated actively in the politics of that world, integrating into human and elven societies. Since the upheavals that brought about the world of Nyxheim, their numbers and influence have declined, but they are still a recognised force in the universe. Biology Variations Dragon: A dragon is a creature with 100% draconic blood. A pureblood dragon has two forms: a dragon form, and a humanoid form. The humanoid form of each individual can vary slightly. Some dragons are completely indistinguishable from humans once transformed, while others cannot remove some of their reptile features, such as scales, slit pupils, claws and so on. Drake: A drake is a creature with at least 50% draconic blood. When a dragon mates a human or a half-dragon, a drake is born. By nature, all dragons are feral, but have been gifted by their crators vast willpower to control their instincts with. When dragons mate with other races, this natural willpower is dilluted in their offspring, and the savage that sleeps within every dragon awakens. The more dilluted the blood, the more difficult it is to control their feral nature. Drakes can therefore vary from mentally unstable at best and dangerously insane at worst. A drake's powers are generally lesser versions of his parents' abilities. Drakes often cannot transform all the way into a dragon, only being able to grow wings, claws and tails, for example. Even if they can, their dragon form will be much smaller in size and power than that of a pureblooded dragon. They do have one advantage: they can more easily learn magic of an element other than their primary; fire in the case of red dragons, and ice in the case of silver dragons. Pureblood dragons that are not especially magically gifted are confined to their own element when spellweaving. Wyrm: A wyrm is a rare creature with less than 50% draconic blood. Wyrms come in various degrees of sapience, but most are completely feral and can be considered animals. Their appearance can range from an aesthetically pleasing humanoid with reptile features to a grotesque monstrosity, depending on what races have had a hand in breeding forth the wyrm. They generally have one form that they are unable to change out of. They are not capable of living in civilised societies, not even as pets, and can only be found roaming the wilderness. Red wyrms are dangerous predators that attack anything, while silver wyrms are more peaceful and hunt small animals. They can seldom cast magic and are equipped only with their natural abilities, alongside with any simple civilised tools that they may have come across. Appearance Dragons appear as huge lizards. The two subspecies have earned their names by their color; red and silver respectively. Deviations from these colors often occur when a dragon mates with a non-dragon. For example, the resulting drake could be brown on even yellow, in the case of red dragons; white or blue in the case of silver dragons. Since red and silver dragons are fundamentally hostile towards each other, it is yet unknown what a hybrid dragon would look like. Red and silver dragons do not differ only in color. Red dragons have longer and sharper claws and teeth, jagged scales and slightly longer tails. Silver dragons look somewhat bulkier, with much thicker scales and a broader wingspan to bear the increased weight. Their scales and appendages look more smooth and rounded, while those of red dragons are more spiky and aggressive. Abilities All pureblood dragons have a humanoid form that they can transform into at will. While in human form, most of their draconic abilities like flying are void; breathing fire/ice is one of the exceptions, though even here the power level is much diminished. Nevertheless, dragons adept at transmutation magic can transform themselves patrially - into a human with wings and claws, for example. Dragons are covered by very tough scales that cannot be pierced by most kinds of personal weapons, including firearms. Naturally, this makes dragons very hard to kill, even in the modern age. They also possess great physical strength, although usually not enough to crush a tank or anything of that nature. With the development of more powerful and accurate cannons, the future of dragons as a military asset is dubious, but as of now, they are still a terrible force on the battlefield, and will always be so in personal combat. Red and silver dragons have a strong affinity to fire and ice magic, respectively. They can perform most spells of their element with minimal training, and if they study seriously, there are not many mages in Nyxheim that can match them. However, they have trouble with magic of an element other than their own, and typically cannot learn those spells at all. Their capabilities within non-elemental fields of magic are average. Red dragons have sharper claws and teeth, are faster fliers, have a better sense of sight and smell, as well as better reflexes. Silver dragons have thicker scales, more intelligent, quicker learners, and more adept at magic. Diet Dragons enjoy meat of any kind, and eat it almost excusively. Only in human form can their stomachs digest plant food, and they only eat it when nothing else is available. Silver dragons are generally more accepting of a varied diet than red dragons are. Life Cycle Newly born dragons are the size of a calf, and about as intelligent. They develop slowly, both mentally and physically. They can be considered teenagers when they have lived for around a century, and full adults once they've passed three centuries. Dragons never stop growing in size. Teenagers are about the size of a large truck in their dragon form. Adults can reach the size of a cottage. The few oldest ones, who have lived past a thousand years, are truly titanic. However, they can grow senile, and their huge bodies become harder to move around as they age past 800, which is the average lifespan of a dragon; silver dragons tend to live longer because they have slower metabolism. Undead dragons have become more common after the race has been involved in several brutal wars recently, and can be found in the Ecclesiarchy and, to a lesser extent, in Malekith. Behavioral Traits Red dragons are ferocious and aggressive by nature. They are easily provoked and prone to violence. They enjoy sports and other forms of active recreation. Red dragons are generally greedy and hold material wealth in high regard. Socially, they tend to be open and honest, although their short fuse can make them difficult to get along with. Silver dragons are, in many ways, the exact opposite. They possess great patience and composure, and are more inclined towards intellectual and artistic pursuits. They are slow to trust, but once trust is won, they can become a reliable friend and ally. Society Red dragons have once lived alongside humans in the Arcadian kingdom of Valor. They had their own hierarchy and were largely independent from humans. They have stayed true to this model after they betrayed Valor and swore allegiance to Malekith. However, after the collapse of the briefl Malkian Empire, the dragons' dwindled numbers and drastic reforms of the Malkian society have forced them to assume a niche within the dark elven military, in complete subordination to the Malkian crown. Over three centuries have passed since then, and the red dragons are largely assimilated into the dark elven society, yet still retain much of their own culture and language. Silver dragons live alongside with the moon elves of Altamira, like they have done since their creation, and are seamlessly integrated. Most live in a network of mountain caverns, called the Dragon District, but some live right amongst the moon elves. They have a functional internal democracy, with a cabinet of representatives elected every twelve years. The cabinet is subordinate to the Altamiran crown and receives an annual stipend from the Altamiran treasury to spend on various cultural, political and scholarly events within the silver dragon community. Industry Red dragons do not produce anything themselves, but have readily adapted to the rapid technological progress of Malekith, and freely use advanced dark elven tools. Silver dragons have a generally hostile attitude towards technology, much like their moon elven cohabitants. They are more capable of non-industrial craftsmanship than red dragons, however. Family Life Dragons value personal space higher than most races, and rarely live in couples, preferring to have their own residence. When they feel the need, they can initiate courting procedures with a dragon of the opposite gender, or the same gender, although that is considered a form of entertainment rather than family-making. Conceiving children with non-dragons is frowned upon, because aberrations come of it. Actually living together with a non-dragon is a taboo. Dragons mix more freely with non-dragons in Malekith than in Altamira, because the dark elves have not taken upon themselves to regulate these things. Because of that, drakes face harsher prejudice in Altamira. Females are physically capable of laying eggs only every once in a decade. Caring for the offspring in its infancy is left upon the mother. Dragons are highly protective of their young, and don't let them away from their side until the children can take care of themselves, which is about sixty years from hatching. When they have aged past a century, it is customary among dragons to move out from their mother's abode. Sabotaging a dragon egg is made equal with murder in both Altamiran and Malkian law. Education Silver dragons of Altamira take part in special educational programs to keep their knowledge of the Draconic language alive. Other than that, dragons in general have no particular educational culture and enjoy the education provided to them by the society they live in. Language The native language of dragons is Draconic. It has no written form, and can only be pronounced using a dragon's throat, so it has always been confined to dragons and perhaps some skilled illusion mages. Red dragons have gone through a massive process of assimilation. Most of them still speak draconic, but they prefer to communicate in Eldarin, the language of the kingdom that has absorbed them. Silver dragons speak draconic among themselves and Eldarin with elves. Unlike the case with red dragons, continuous efforts are made to preserve Draconic in Altamira. Eldarin is the second native tongue of silver dragons, since they have always lived alongside elves. Some very old dragons are capable of some Thyrsar. Dragons that live in the Ecclesiarchy speak Hexxarin, along with whatever language they knew in life. Immigration & Emigration The three notable dragon communities - in Malekith, Altamira and Obsidian respectively - have a fairly stable population, and do not move much, mainly because other societies are, to put it mildly, extremely cautious about accepting dragons into their ranks. Some dragons disguise themselves using their humanoid form, and introduce themselves as members of a more mundane race when they want to move into a human city, for example. Although, even counting that, migration figures for dragons are largely nonexistent. History Dragon-kin originated in the Elder World, more so during the Crone's rule of the earth kingdom of Taure. In an age where the elements existed in imbalance three powers held rule over the entire lands: the Holy Empire of Epentar with its motherland in the ice-realm of Eirian, the Crone who spread her power from Taure, and Sheoul, the shadow realm with two leaders,one of whom was the Daeva Gwaryan. The Crone came into power after she swayed the lovely Gaea, the Essence of Earth, and her valiant protector/lover Kael, the Warrior of Earth, into twisted beings. She used the love they had for each other and turned it against them, into something horrible; the result of this unrequited love was the birth of three beings which Celestia would remember till the end of her days. One of these beings was a creature named Ruthark who aided the Crone in her conquest over the fire-realm of Sedjet and later became the originator of the first species of Dragons. Once Sedjet had been claimed, the first ever Red Dragons appeared in the Crone's army and devastated the other realms with their sheer power. Kingdoms crumbled to ashes; their land was scorched and scarred and their people were demoralised and disorganized and, as such, were easy pickings for the Dragons of Fire. The other major powers in the world saw this new revolution and sought to combat it with their own weapons of war. Upon first seeing these mighty dragons turn everything to ashes, and being so horribly hard to kill, the Winterstar (Daeva Adonis) began his own creation, and thus, a couple of years later, the Silver Dragons flew beside Epentar's Aerial Fleet. The Silver Dragons were able to soothe the land of its troubles along with being an even match for their fiery counterparts. The Vampire Lord Gwaryan also gave rise to a weaker yet mass-produced variety of Dragons as Sheoul's bid to equalise the imbalance in power. These Dragons were however corpses of already dead Dragons reanimated back to life and as such were very powerful, but not powerful enough to combat the creations of the Winterstar and the Crone. It is believed that none of these original zombie dragons raised by Gwaryan still remain. The Dragon race became present in Arcadia after Celestia's fall but kept their previously acquired reputation intact; the Dragons of Fire became the nobility of Valor, the new kingdom of Fire, and the Dragons of Ice inhabited Nifredil and co-existed with the Moon Elves. Even now in Nyxheim the silver dragons continue to live with the Moon Elves, but at during the last years of the Old World (Arcadia) they betrayed Valor and joined Malekith to serve under the Solidor Dynasty. Today Red Dragons are the the royal guard and the crown jewel of Malekith. -- Royal Seal 06:17, July 17, 2013 (UTC) Category:Races